<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Lock and Key by clandestinemeetingsinthetrees</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28211595">Lock and Key</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/clandestinemeetingsinthetrees/pseuds/clandestinemeetingsinthetrees'>clandestinemeetingsinthetrees</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>ZK Drabble December 2020 [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Basically a retelling of the scene that made everyone ship zutara, Crystal Catacombs (Avatar), Episode: s02e20 The Crossroads of Destiny, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:53:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>553</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28211595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/clandestinemeetingsinthetrees/pseuds/clandestinemeetingsinthetrees</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko keeps his emotions locked deep in his chest, but when trapped in the Crystal Catacombs, Katara finds the key. Written for ZKDD day 9</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>ZK Drabble December 2020 [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040542</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>ZK Drabble December 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lock and Key</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko doesn’t show his emotions, but he used to. He used to cry when he scrapped his knee while running in the gardens, and laugh with his little sister, and smile when his mother tucked him in at night, but he was a different person then. He had a different face then.</p><p>Even before that though, he knew these emotions were his weakness. Azula doesn’t cry. Azula doesn’t laugh with him anymore. Azula doesn’t need to be coddled. She is strong and he is weak. He knows this, but he keeps feeling anyways. His mother would tell him that those feelings were actually his strengths, but then she left, and his father never forgave him.</p><p>
  <em>It’s your fault she’s gone. She was protecting you because you were too weak to protect yourself.</em>
</p><p>He really thought that was the worst thing that would ever happen to him. It’s almost funny now. He had cried and cried when he realized she was gone. He knew he was weak, and he no longer cared. Azula was the strong one. She was born lucky; he was lucky to be born. He thought he could just be content with that.</p><p>But he wasn’t.</p><p>No, he <em>had </em>to go to that war meeting. The one he knew he wasn’t invited to. He <em>had </em>to go, and he <em>had </em>to speak up because how could this nation that he loved so much be so cruel? How could they sacrifice their own?</p><p>The last time he cried was when his father brought the flame to his face. He doesn’t cry anymore.</p><p>No now he keeps all him emotions locked deep in his chest. Except for anger, that one can stay. Anger at his crew on that stupid boat, anger at the Avatar for alluding him, anger at the peasant girl who gets in his way, anger at… <em>himself</em>… Anger became his fuel, his fire. If he consumed himself in anger, he wouldn’t be weak.</p><p>And now, there’s her. He’d spent so long trying to avoid them now. He was <em>done</em> chasing the Avatar. He wasn’t Prince Zuko, he was Lee and he thought maybe Lee could actually be happy. Maybe Lee could stay in Ba Sing Se and serve tea and try to forget about the war raging outside the city walls. But she had to go and ruin that.</p><p>He’d known the world was cruel for most of his life but being trapped here with her was the sickest joke he could have envisioned.</p><p>She hates him and he deserves it.</p><p>So he lets her throw all the insults she wants at him and he doesn’t fight back. Well, not as much as he could have.</p><p>But then she’s crying and he’s not sure what to do. Anger he could deal with but tears? She sounded so… <em>broken.</em></p><p>And then she did something he didn’t think was possible. His chest and been locked for so long now, he didn’t think it’d ever be opened, but somehow, this girl from the other side of the world had found the key. He knew what it was to lose a mother… So, he turned to face her.</p><p>“I’m sorry. That’s something we have in common.”</p><p>Instead of the fire of anger, he let his emotions run. Let them run as free as water.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Two posts in one day? More likely than you'd think! Hope you guys liked this classic Crystal Catacombs retelling, I know I had fun with it. I'm gonna try and get at least 2 more prompts done tomorrow! If you're not from Tumblr I'm also on there as clandestinemeetingsinthetrees as well! Come say hi!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>